Articles

Entering the China eCommerce Market – A Guide for the Uninitiated

You’ve been assigned the exciting task of expanding into China’s massive eCommerce market, congratulations! Soon after, you realize China presents unique challenges and opportunities compared to Western markets dominated by Amazon. The distinct characteristics of China’s eCommerce landscape and unique consumer demands require strategies to navigate this dynamic market successfully. I. Overview of China’s eCommerce Market China’s eCommerce market is a force to be reckoned with, driven by the dominance of platforms like Taobao, Tmall, JD.com, and Pinduoduo. With a massive consumer base, this market offers unparalleled potential for businesses. Additionally, mobile commerce (m-commerce) and the integration of social media into the eCommerce experience are defining features of China’s market. II. Unique Characteristics of China’s eCommerce Market III. Regulatory and Legal Challenges IV. Localization and Cultural Considerations V. Supply Chain and Logistics VI. Marketing and Promotion Strategies VII. Risk Management and Intellectual Property Protection Success Examples of Companies in China’s eCommerce Market: Nike:Nike’s success in China’s eCommerce market can be attributed to its localization efforts and strategic partnerships. The company recognized the importance of appealing to Chinese consumers’ preferences and adapted its product offerings accordingly. Nike established collaborations with local influencers and KOLs, leveraging their influence to amplify brand visibility....

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Opinion: AI’s Influence on eCommerce Search Results and How CPG Brands Content Strategy Needs to Adapt

As AI technology continues to evolve, it brings about three significant changes that will reshape search results on eCommerce marketplaces and, consequently, force CPG brands to rethink future digital shelf content strategies. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undeniably revolutionized the way we interact with technology, and its impact on eCommerce search results is no exception, particularly on marketplaces. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undeniably revolutionized the way we interact with technology, and its impact on eCommerce search results is no exception. As AI technology continues to evolve, it brings about three significant changes that will reshape search results on eCommerce marketplaces and, consequently, force CPG brands to rethink digital shelf content strategy. AI technology is transforming eCommerce search results in profound ways. The rise of personalization, voice search, and visual search capabilities necessitate brands to rethink their content strategy on the digital shelf. These changes to optimize CPG brands’ content to align with AI algorithms, you can improve your results visibility, engage with customers on a deeper level, and remain competitive in the evolving eCommerce landscape.

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Facing Grocery eCommerce Margin Pressures from Retail Media Spend

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated the growth of eCommerce, and retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Tesco have been the primary beneficiaries of this trend. To maintain their competitive edge, these retailers are demanding higher investments in retail media from brands, which has a direct impact on eCommerce profit margins.

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Getting Started First-Party Data for Small Businesses. 5 Strategies You Can Implement TODAY!

First-party data is all the data that is generated and collected directly by a company’s own properties and audience. Companies are able to use this data to improve their products and services, understand customers’ needs, and generally provide a better customer experience.

First-party data is immensely valuable for your business as you have ownership of that data. The data you’ve collected can be used for better customer service, increased understanding of your customers, more precise messaging for your marketing and advertising, and knowing for a fact that a 3rd party such as Facebook, Google, or Amazon can’t just change their algorithms and take away customer data from your business.

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By David Tong, ago

Don’t Let the Cart Pull the Horse. Tech Enables Business Strategy – Not the Other Way Around

In today’s digital age, technology has become an integral part of every business. It has revolutionized the way companies operate, interact with customers, and manage their operations. Many businesses have embraced technology with open arms, adopting various tech solutions to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

However, while technology is undoubtedly important, it should not be the primary focus of a business.

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By David Tong, ago

Ego Is Killing Your Marketing Efforts

Super Bowl XLI just ended and we were blessed with a slew of funny, entertaining, and creative marketing and advertising by some of the world’s largest (and deepest pocketed) brands.

As an inspired member of your company’s marketing and advertising team, the gears in your head are spinning for ideas on how you can execute something memorable for your next campaign.

You and your team work day and night thinking of a campaign, spoke to your agency on execution strategies, getting your budget approved after a rosy projection on how great the campaign will be, and a week after you launch, you got some PR firm mentioning your campaign, some colleagues posting it on LinkedIn, but ultimately, no one outside your company cared.

What happened?

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By David Tong, ago
Photo by Marcus Aurelius

Did Hybrid and Remote Work Improve Corporate Culture or Gave Presenteeism and Bias a Boost?

I watched a segment on hybrid and remote work maturing in 2022 by The Economist triggered some interesting questions that many of us haven’t had much thought of.

The impact of remote and hybrid work shifted how we approached work over the past 20 months in massively positive ways but also raised some concerns that we may be moving in the wrong direction without seeing the warning signs.

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By David Tong, ago

How I (Am Trying to) Deal With Pandemic Mental and Emotional Work Burnout

Have you ever felt like a part of your brain is shorting out and burning? Or do Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays feel like days to worry about the upcoming Monday more than respute for the current week?

Since the pandemic hit, I think more people are aware of burnout phenomenons be it career or personal life situations and it’s a serious problem that many of us don’t know how to deal with.

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By David Tong, ago

14 Lead Generation and CRM Mistakes ALL MARKETERS Make

We’ve reached the end of our 3-part, first-party data and lead generation series of articles. If you missed the first two, read them here and here. Now that you’ve identified your 1PD initiative and picked a tool to streamline the process, let’s cover the most common mistakes that EVERY SINGLE marketer has committed and how to avoid, and ideas on how to fix them.

This is a huge article, so grab some coffee and let’s dive right in.

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By David Tong, ago